


The New Guy

by SasuNarufan13



Category: Naruto
Genre: AU so no shinobi, Description of Injuries, Kiba's pov, M/M, Murder, Severe Bullying, Slash, Some angst, halloween fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-31
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-08-11 08:58:33
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,789
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16472534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SasuNarufan13/pseuds/SasuNarufan13
Summary: There's a new student in their class. Kiba can't help but think there's something off about him.





	The New Guy

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note: Oh man, what can I say about this? This idea turned out to be way longer than I thought it'd be and a lot darker as well. But I guess that's kind of fitting for Halloween? *shrugs*
> 
> ATTENTION: Please be aware of the warnings. I don't want to trigger anyone and this oneshot deals with some heavy stuff. It might be Halloween but I don't want to hurt anyone with this fic.
> 
> Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto owns it.
> 
> This is my first time writing Kiba's pov, so I hope I didn't mess up too badly. I hope you'll enjoy this oneshot!

**The New Guy**

A new guy transferred into their class at the beginning of August.

Personally Kiba thought that was an odd moment to enrol into a school, but whatever. Maybe the guy's family decided to move for some reason. It didn't matter.

The girls' reactions to the new student _were_ rather annoying, though. They stared at him with large, glittering eyes, blushing and giggling and furiously whispering with their friends just how handsome the new one was with his black spikey hair, his sharp cheekbones and pale pink lips.

Small squeals erupted throughout the class when the guy introduced himself in a deep voice, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. Nice to meet you."

At seventeen years old he stood quite tall already and his black eyes, deep and unfathomable, glided from one student to the next one. He came across as utterly bored and for the life of him Kiba couldn't understand why the girls were so hyped up about him. He was just a new guy, geez. One would think a celebrity was standing in front of the class with how much the girls were vibrating in their chairs.

Ibiki-sensei looked around before pointing at a seat near the back of the class. "There, you can take that seat. If the rest of you would calm down, we can start with our next lesson."

As Uchiha weaved his way through the rows, Kiba raised an eyebrow when he noticed just which desk he was aiming for and he nudged Shikamaru in his side.

"What?" his friend asked annoyed, lifting his head up from the table.

With how much the guy dozed off during classes, it was a miracle – and a fucking mystery – that he still managed to retain one of the highest grades in their year.

"Uzumaki is fucked. Look where Uchiha is going to sit," he muttered, jerking his head at the dark haired boy.

Shikamaru looked past him and wrinkled his nose. "He's going to be eaten alive," he mumbled, lowering his head back down on his crossed arms.

Kiba grimaced, agreeing with him. With Ibiki having seated Uchiha right next to Uzumaki, he'd just signed Uzumaki's death warrant. Already several girls were glaring daggers at the blond boy, who kept his head down, avoiding their angry glares.

Uzumaki Naruto was the loner of their class, the one everyone had branded the loser from the very beginning. With no parents and a godfather who was more gone than home, Uzumaki didn't exactly have it easy. With his cheeks bearing strange whisker like marks, his predilection for wearing orange jackets, his love for pranks and his big mouth, he'd had a target painted on his back the very second he'd set foot in their primary school. With no friends and no real family to speak of, the blond boy was an easy target for bullies, especially when rumours started flying that his godfather was a pervert.

Kiba had never really interacted with Uzumaki. They had no common interests to speak of and Kiba wasn't particularly interested in being bullied as well just because he associated with the blue eyed boy.

Their classmates didn't particularly bother with Uzumaki; his bullies were mostly older boys or guys from other classes and the people in their class were content with just ignoring him. Now however, the guy who had all the girls swooning at his feet – eugh – was to sit next to the loser and none of the girls were particularly happy with that, judging by the stormy looks adorning their faces.

If Uzumaki didn't watch out, he might have to worry about the girls in their class too.

* * *

As Kiba had silently predicted, problems arose for Uzumaki very quickly.

During classes there was nothing the girls could really do unless they wanted to risk the wrath of their teachers, but outside the classroom? Yeah, Uzumaki had become fair game to them.

He'd get tripped, trash would be put in his locker, drinks and even yoghurts would be spilled on him. During gym his clothes would disappear only to end up in the garbage can and he'd be forced to walk only in his underwear through the hallways to retrieve them. Kiba had even spotted a girl spitting in his lunch when Uzumaki had turned his head for a moment.

The bullying about his quirks – like the way he appeared unable to simply sit still or how easily distracted he became – grew worse, spurred on this time by the girls. His books would get stolen, his homework thrown in puddles of water, forcing him to redo everything.

One time – and Kiba still hadn't figured out whether it had been intentional or just a major coincidence – Uzumaki had walked beneath an open window on his way to biology when a bucket of filthy water had been dumped right on him, forcing him to sit through the remaining classes in wet and stinking clothes.

Why was this all suddenly happening to him? Easy: because Uchiha was sometimes caught talking to him.

Kiba had never realised just how vicious girls could be until Uchiha Sasuke had entered their class and Uzumaki had become their new target. He didn't envy the poor sod at all.

* * *

Despite sharing the same class, Kiba hadn't talked with Uchiha so far. It was the end of August and he'd yet to exchange a single word with the black haired student. Partly because he didn't want to become a new target for the girls and partly because Uchiha seemed as much as a loner as Uzumaki was, albeit by choice rather than because he'd been forced into that role.

Not to mention … There was just something about Uchiha that creeped him out; whatever it was he couldn't put his finger on it, but he didn't feel comfortable around the boy at all.

"Maybe you just feel threatened by his popularity," Shino said blankly, taking a bite from his curry.

"Shut up, I'm not threatened by him," Kiba said annoyed, dragging his own spoon through the curry.

"Why do you have a problem with him then?" Chouji asked confused. He'd already gone back once to get a second portion of curry. "Did you get into a fight with him or so?"

Kiba snorted. "As if. We haven't even talked yet."

"Then I don't know what your problem with him is and I don't care," Shikamaru muttered, hiding a yawn behind his hand. "I've seen your last history test, Kiba, you've got bigger problems than Uchiha."

"Hey! It wasn't that bad!" Kiba reddened.

"You barely passed, you idiot, I'd say it _was_ that bad."

"Will you shut up? We can't all be genius'!"

"Passing a history test doesn't have anything to do with being a genius but everything with just studying."

"I did study!"

"Apparently not enough."

* * *

"Before we start class," Mitarashi began, her voice ringing loudly through the room, "I need to ask you a question first. Has anyone heard of Karin-san?"

"I thought she was just sick, sensei," Ino said confused, still busy with braiding her long, blonde hair.

Mitarashi shook her head and absently brushed a lock of her dark purple hair behind her ear. "That's what we thought as well, but apparently she hasn't been home for the past two days." She pursed her lips; her light brown eyes rooming across the students. "Look, I get that you don't want to betray her trust, but her parents are getting really worried. Is she staying with anyone of you? You're not going to be in trouble, I promise, we just need to know where she is."

"Mitarashi-sensei, we haven't seen her since last Friday," Sakura piped up; her large forehead wrinkled into a frown.

"Did she say anything about meeting someone or going somewhere? Anything at all that might help us find her?"

Smacking her fist against her hand, Ino said, "Oh! Yeah, she said she was going to meet up with some guy, but she didn't want to say who. We all thought it must be a new boyfriend or so because she wanted to know which dress would be best to pull on."

"Oh right, yeah," Tenten spoke, crossing her arms on her desk. "She couldn't shut up about it during gym; she was really excited about her date."

Mitarashi sighed and rubbed the back of her neck. "Well, if you remember anything else, please contact her parents. They'll get you in touch with the police."

"Think she's crashing at that guy's place?" Kiba muttered, opening his notebook once Mitarashi indicated class was starting for real now.

"She's done that before," Shikamaru agreed, plucking a pen from his pencase.

Karin was the biggest flirt of the entire school. Every month she seemed to have a new boyfriend, often older guys she'd met at her part time job at the local pub. It wouldn't be the first time she stumbled out of a dude's car with her hair messed up and her school uniform wrinkled, making it very clear what she had been doing before arriving at school.

Maybe she'd got too caught up in her newest boyfriend? Kiba sure didn't want to be in her shoes when her parents found her.

* * *

They found Karin two days later in the nearby river, naked and with her throat slit. The deep cuts on her breasts, stomach and thighs evidence that she'd been tortured before being killed.

She'd been dead for two days before being dumped in the water; any evidence that might have been left behind washed away.

"I heard the police are suspecting her new boyfriend of killing her."

"Shit, really? Did they catch the guy?"

"No, that's the problem: they don't know who this guy is. Nobody saw her leave."

"Ah fuck, I hope they find that sick bastard quickly."

The whispers were like the wind rustling as they stood there gathered to say goodbye to their classmate. It was a dreary Saturday morning; the perfect fit for the downcast mood hanging over them.

Sure, they had lost students before – but that had happened because of an accident or because the student had been too ill to recover. They had never lost anyone before because of _murder_.

As Kiba stared at Karin's parents, at the way her father was embracing her sobbing mother, he wondered who could be this evil to kill a young girl in such a brutal manner.

* * *

Upset as they were about the loss of their classmate, life went on regardless. Classes proceeded like normal, people went back to gossiping about the latest party or the newest couple. All trying to ignore the empty seat in the middle of the class as best as they could.

Some days they succeeded in that better than others.

* * *

"You heard about the latest prank they pulled on Uzumaki?" Neji sank down next to Shikamaru, plunking his tray with rice and chicken on the table.

Kiba furrowed his eyebrows, pausing his chewing. "No, should we have?"

"Ah, you must have left earlier than the rest. They stole his clothes," Neji replied, sipping from his water.

"They've done that before, nothing new about that," Shikamaru sighed.

"True, but this time they replaced them with the girl's uniform."

"What?" Kiba stared at him perplexed and when Neji nodded at something behind him, he turned around in his chair.

There, hovering next to the door stood Uzumaki, dressed in the white shirt and the grey skirt combo the girls had to wear to school. The skirt fell to his knees and someone had painted in red letters LOSER on the front. His entire face was flushed red and he looked ready to start crying any second now as he scurried along the walls to get in line for lunch.

At first nobody else seemed to notice his new attire. Then the whispers started, people began nudging their friends, and soon loud laughter erupted; some girls even shrieking in delight.

"Never knew you to be this kinky, Uzumaki!" a guy shouted, eliciting whooping laughter from his friends.

"Your godfather's perversity rubbing off on you?" shouted another and that only brought forth another salvo of taunting laughter.

"Does this mean you want to get fucked like a girl too, Uzumaki? Maybe if you ask nicely, I'll let you suck mine!"

Without even grabbing lunch, Uzumaki turned tails, rushing past the tables, stumbling when some guys reached out to snatch at his skirt, trying to bring it down. The doors banged shut behind him, but the laughter didn't stop for a long time, some people exclaiming loudly they'd taken pictures of it.

"I think I've had enough," Kiba muttered, pushing the rest of his lunch away.

"They're getting worse," Shikamaru remarked quietly; his usual passive face set in a pained grimace.

"Why didn't he just borrow a spare uniform?" Chouji asked perplexed.

Neji shrugged, stabbing his fork through a piece of chicken. "You think I know everything? I don't know why he didn't go ask for a new one."

_Because they most likely wouldn't give him one_. The words laid on the tip of Kiba's tongue, but he swallowed them back. After so many incidents with liquids spilled on his uniform, the school had grown reluctant of giving Uzumaki a new one every time an incident happened.

Kiba had been nearby last time Uzumaki had gone to ask for a new uniform and had heard the woman telling him that they couldn't keep giving him new ones, insinuating that the blond himself was to blame for what had happened to his clothes.

"Girls are dangerous," Shikamaru muttered.

For some reason that made Kiba search the hall for a certain dark haired boy, finding him near the windows, closest to the exit. Uchiha was looking down at his tray, seemingly absorbed by his food.

Then dark eyes flicked up and landed straight on Kiba as if feeling the boy's gaze upon him.

Kiba turned away after a moment, swallowing. Yeah, girls were dangerous, all right.

* * *

Sakon, the guy who'd made the leering comment about Uzumaki sucking him off, disappeared a couple of days after the incident.

Flyers with his face printed on it were hung up on the walls in the school corridors and surrounding streets, students were asked to come forwards with any information, no matter how small, they might have about Sakon's disappearance.

All the efforts to find him turned out to be for naught when a week later, his body was found in the local woods, hanging from a tree branch. Suicide ruled the police report, brought on by his failing grades and his bad home situation.

Unlike with Karin, not that many people mourned him; too many people having been bullied by him.

Some even dared to suggest, whispered in the hallways, that the world was better off without him.

* * *

"You h-heard the news?" Hinata asked hushed; her light purple eyes wide in her pale face.

"What news?" Kiba asked, throwing a wary glance at Ibiki, who was reading something with a severe frown on his face.

Their teacher didn't seem in the mood yet to start class, which was weird because the man was normally a stickler for being on time. Whatever held his attention must be very interesting.

"Sakura-chan – she didn't come home yesterday."

"What?" Dark eyes widened. "Where did she go to?"

Hinata shook her head, worrying her lower lip between her teeth. She fiddled with her fingers, being more nervous than normally. "None of us know. Her mum called mine last night, asking whether Sakura-chan was staying at my house. Ino-chan called me last night too, but she wasn't there either."

"That is really weird," Kiba muttered uneasily.

While Sakura could be a real certifiable bitch – especially towards Uzumaki – she wasn't one to not let her parents know she was going somewhere. In fact she was very close to her parents, never going somewhere without informing either one of them. Why hadn't she gone home yesterday?

"Did she get into a fight with her parents?"

"N-n-no, at least she didn't say anything about it to me," Hinata replied worriedly. "Ino-chan and I – we're going to look for her together with my cousin. Er, I don't want to bother you with this, Kiba-kun, but – but could you go with us? And – and take Akamaru with you?"

"So that he can track her scent?" Kiba asked, realising where the girl was going with this.

She nodded hesitatingly. "Y-yeah, I – I know Akamaru isn't t-trained for that, but er, do you think you could take him with you?"

"Sure! Of course I'll help out!" he reassured her hastily. "Anything I can do to help!"

"I'll come with you," Shikamaru muttered. "I've got nothing better to do this afternoon anyway."

Hinata's grateful smile had Kiba flushing slightly. "Thank you, Kiba-kun, Shikamaru-kun. Hopefully we'll find her soon!"

"Yeah, hopefully," he agreed, smiling weakly. His stomach was still doing flips when she turned back around.

* * *

Their little group spent the next late afternoons and early evenings going through the streets Sakura was most likely to frequent, stopping by the stores she loved and even the temple she liked to visit once in a while.

While not trained to track, Akamaru was still doing a pretty good job; his nose sniffling over the ground, leading them to the places Sakura spent the most time at. Once he led them to a quiet neighbourhood where the large houses were spread out and large enough to show off their wealth, surrounded by large gates. None of them could think of a reason why Sakura would come here of all places and shrugged it off as Akamaru's tracking limit having been reached.

Their lack of any real leads was quite frustrating, though. Where could Sakura possibly have gone to without alerting either her parents or her friends?

It just didn't make any sense.

* * *

One look at Hinata's tearful gaze, her lower lip trembling as she hugged Ino, both girls crying into each other's shoulders, had Kiba halting abruptly in the doorway of their first class; a sudden bout of nausea overwhelming him.

He didn't think he wanted to know what was making those two girls cry so much, but he didn't have any choice in that matter. Everyone was ushered inside and after the door clicked shut, Umino-sensei made his way to the front, leaning his hands on the desk.

His face was drawn, pale and tired and his voice was rough when he announced, "Everyone, I have some bad news to tell you."

Unlike any other morning, a hush instantly fell over the class, everyone shutting up immediately. Normally at least one or two people would still whisper, but now everyone was quiet.

"Last night, the police found Haruno-san." Umino-sensei paused, visibly gathered himself before continuing roughly, "She – she was killed. Please, everyone, if you know anything, no matter how stupid you think it is, please talk to the police."

Umino-sensei continued talking, but Kiba wasn't listening anymore. His ears were filled with the loud noise of his pulse and he stared unseeingly at his desk; his eyes landing on the faint scratches left behind by previous students.

Sakura was dead? No, that couldn't be. They had been searching for her for days! They had all believed they would find her back and –

But that wasn't true, right? Nobody had dared to say it aloud, but they had all been fearing the same thing: that they wouldn't find Sakura back. At least not alive.

And now their fear had turned out to be true after all: Sakura was gone. Killed by some kind of sicko.

Who had done this to her? Who could have just robbed her off her life like that?

How could anyone have done something so horrible to her?

* * *

Sakura's body had been mutilated so badly that nobody was allowed to see her, not even her parents. The funeral was one with a closed casket to prevent the people paying her their last respect from becoming traumatised.

Rumours had it that she had been mutilated so horrifically that the police had to use dental records to identify her. Exposed to nature's elements, the pathologist had had a hard time deciding which injury had turned out to be the fatal one. Eventually it was ruled that the blows she had sustained to her head had led to her eventual death.

As with Karin, the police had no idea who to look out for. Sakura had had no enemies, no boyfriend who might have turned jealous. She had got along great with her parents and was doing well at school.

The detectives were at a dead end. Some people had come forward, stating they had heard her talking about meeting up with a guy, but as nobody could give an actual description or even a name of this person, that lead quickly grew cold.

Whoever had killed Sakura was very good at covering their tracks.

* * *

They all had a hard time coping with Sakura's death, but the one who her death hit the hardest was no doubt Ino. She and Sakura had been very close, as close as sisters even, and nobody was surprised that the blonde girl took the loss of her best friend badly.

While other girls burst out in tears, however, like Hinata sometimes did when everything became too much for her, Ino handled her grief entirely different – by seeking out who was to blame.

"You know, I've been doing some thinking and I think I know who killed Sakura," she announced a week after Sakura's funeral.

Her lack of make up made her face look washed out; the bags underneath her eyes visibly dark, proof that she hadn't been sleeping well at all. She was dressed rather soberly in a thick sweater on top of her regular uniform and her eyes were too wide as she leant against a desk.

Their teacher was running late and everyone was taking advantage of that by talking to their friends for as long as they still could.

"Oh yeah?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow. "Who do you think did it?"

Flicking her long hair over her shoulder, she curled her lip up. "Uzumaki of course. Who else would have a motive?"

In spite of the fact that she hadn't raised her voice, everybody still seemed to have heard her because suddenly everyone went quiet, staring at the blond boy in the back.

"I didn't do it. Why the hell would I kill someone?" Uzumaki glared at her; his hands balled into fists.

"Because she'd been teasing you and we all know how short your temper is, loser," she spat, straightening out from the desk she'd used as support and taking a couple of steps closer to him.

"She was bullying me, but that doesn't mean I killed her. You think I'd end up in prison for someone like her?" He shook his head; anger audible in his voice.

"Y-you can't just a-accuse someone of something as – as horrible as that, Ino-chan," Hinata squeaked, clasping her hands together.

"Why not? He makes the most sense," Ino sneered; her blue eyes flashing dangerously. "In fact, when you think about it – he might have killed Karin too. Karin was the one who came up with the prank of hiding his clothes – she ended up dead not long after that. Sakura came up with the girl's uniform idea and now she's dead too! Hell, are we even sure Sakon's death was actually a suicide? He made fun of Uzumaki and guess what? He ended up dead too!"

"Shut the fuck up, Yamanaka," Uzumaki said quietly, but not less furious. "I didn't have anything to do with those deaths."

The laugh escaping her was cruel and Kiba clenched his jaw. Was Ino really going to push it this far? Did she even realise how dangerous it was to accuse Uzumaki of something like that? She was going to make his life impossible at this rate!

He started, "Ino, you're going too - "

"And we're supposed to believe that?" she snorted derisively. "As if a murderer would admit that he killed someone!"

"Just because you're a psychotic bitch like that, doesn't mean we're all like that," Uzumaki shot back, baring his teeth.

"How dare you - !"

"Naruto couldn't have committed those murders because he was with me during those times." Uchiha appeared seemingly out of nowhere, halting right next to Uzumaki's desk. It escaped nobody that his hand landed on the blond's shoulder. "So unless you're going to accuse me of being an accomplice to murder, I suggest you keep your thoughts to yourself, Yamanaka-san."

His voice was calm, but brooked no argument and his dark eyes were slightly narrowed as he gazed at Ino. Uzumaki was oddly quiet; his eyes downcast to the desk.

"Of course I'm not going to accuse you of that, Sasuke-kun," Ino laughed jittery, waving her hand, but her face soured and the glare she shot Uzumaki was positively poisonous. "Who could ever think you could kill someone?"

"Who could ever think Naruto could kill someone?" he riposted calmly and his second use of Uzumaki's first name had the tongues of the others loosening again, their classmates wondering just why Uzumaki had spent time with Uchiha.

Kiba could heard the girls whispering, their faces darkening when they glanced at Uzumaki and he grimaced, realising that Uchiha's admission had just added fuel to the fire of their jealousy.

Ino just stood there gaping like a fish, obviously completely thrown off guard by Uchiha coming to Uzumaki's defence. Before she could gather her bearings again, the door opened and Kurenai-sensei entered the room, her already wild hair looking more frizzled than usual. Her red eyes stared at them disapprovingly when she saw that most people weren't seated yet.

"Get back to your seats, people. Class is about to start," she said and her heels click clacked on the floor as she made her way to her desk.

As the room was filled with chairs scraping back and bags thumping down on the floor, Ino bent closer to Uzumaki and hissed, "This isn't over yet, loser."

"Bring it on, bitch," Uzumaki muttered, not even twitching when Uchiha patted his shoulder before sitting down.

"This is not going to end well," Shikamaru mumbled next to Kiba and the latter glanced at him.

"What can she possibly do that's even worse than what she's doing now?" he questioned, rubbing his cheek.

His friend shrugged, looking at Ino's retreating back with the corners of his mouth pulled down. "I don't know, but I do know that you should never underestimate her."

With that ominous comment, he turned to his textbook. Kiba opened his own, but the words just danced in front of him; his mind miles elsewhere.

Ino had already turned almost the entire class against Uzumaki – she couldn't do anything worse than that, right?

* * *

"Where is it, I know I put it in here, where the hell is it?!"

Uzumaki's panicked mumbling had Kiba turning away from his task of stuffing his books into his bag and he furrowed his eyebrows. The blond was frantically rummaging through his backpack, clearly in search for something.

"Kiba-kun, you're coming?" Rock Lee hovered near the door, jogging in one place. "We can't be late for our volleyball training!"

The Wednesday classes had just finished and Kiba had only volleyball training left before he could go home. Rock Lee usually waited for him seeing as they both had chosen the same sport anyway.

"Yeah, I'm coming." Rolling his eyes, he rammed the last book in his bag and swung it over his shoulder. How Rock Lee didn't tire himself out with how energetic he was every day was a mystery to him. Not to mention his endless enthusiasm for everything that was sport and exercising; he was almost as bad as Gai-sensei himself, their teacher for all sport activities including gym.

"If you don't hurry, Rock Lee might actually carry you there himself," Shikamaru snorted, leaning against the wall. The lazy bastard he was, he hadn't enrolled in any sports activity. Instead he'd just joined the Go club and the mathematics club. The Go club came together on Tuesday and the mathematics one on Friday, so Shikamaru was able to go home already.

"Come on, where is it, where is it, where is it?!"

"You're looking for this?"

Kiba whirled around, alarmed at the smugness dripping off Ino's voice. She stood a couple of feet away from Uzumaki and between her thumb and index finger she had pinched –

A blue scarf with white stripes.

Frowning, Kiba stared at the scarf confused. He'd seen Uzumaki wearing it before, especially now that the weather was growing chilly, but why would Ino have stolen that? Even weirder: why was Uzumaki looking so upset by the loss of it?

"Give it back, Yamanaka," Uzumaki said roughly, looking incensed.

"Hm, I don't know. It looks fucking ugly, but I think it would give enough warmth, hm?" she smirked, waggling the scarf back and forth.

"Ino, don't go too far," Shikamaru said warningly and Kiba threw him a surprised look. His friend wasn't one to interfere in someone else's business, so for him to do it now …

What did he think Ino had planned? It was just a scarf after all.

She ignored Shikamaru – what a surprise – and instead plucked something out of her pocket. "On second thought, maybe I should make sure it's definitely warm enough." Her smirk was the only warning she gave before she suddenly put a lighter underneath the scarf and with a dainty flick of her thumb, the scarf was _set on fire_.

"NO! YOU FUCKING BITCH!" Uzumaki screamed and lunged forwards.

She cackled and danced backwards, out of his reach. "What, too warm now? Too bad!"

The fire had already eaten half of the scarf away before she threw it into the garbage can and kicked it towards Uzumaki. "Here, how do you like your scarf now?" she sneered; her eyes glinting viciously.

"I – fucking hate you," Uzumaki choked out, watching the flames dance in the garbage can. He moved as if to snatch the scarf out of the container, but the flames were too much and he stumbled back, snatching his backpack off his desk before rushing out of the room, shoving past a shocked Rock Lee; tears visibly streaming down his cheeks.

Kiba could only stand there stunned, in complete disbelief about what had just happened.

"Have you completely lost your mind, Ino?" Shikamaru surprised him by snapping harshly; his face contorted with anger. "That scarf was the only thing he had left of his mother! How could you have done that? What the hell is the matter with you?!"

A shock went through Kiba's body and his eyes darted towards the garbage can where the last flames were dying out. That scarf had been from Uzumaki's mother? No wonder he'd sounded so distressed when he'd thought he'd lost it. Kiba couldn't imagine how he would feel if he lost one of the last things belonging to his parents.

_Fuck, that was just so fucked up_. Why had Ino done that? She'd never been this cruel before.

When she spoke, her voice was so cold it actually sent chills down Kiba's spine. "Monsters like him don't deserve anything."

One look at her face and Kiba couldn't help but question just who the monster exactly was here.

* * *

Uzumaki didn't come to school for the rest of the week. Uchiha told the teachers the blond was sick at home – and how could he even know that? Had those two become friends without anyone knowing about it? – but the ones who'd been present in the room on Wednesday knew the truth.

To be honest Kiba couldn't blame the guy. He wouldn't want to go to school either if his last memento of his parents had been burnt right in front of his eyes. He considered visiting him, but well, what could he say? _"Hey, I'm sorry about your scarf"_? What good would that do? It wouldn't bring his scarf back. They weren't friends either; it would only be incredibly awkward.

Still he felt really awful for the blond and guilt simmered in the pit of his stomach as he shamefully had to admit – at least to himself – that he'd done nothing to stop Ino. He should have realised that she'd been planning to do something with the scarf – why else would she have gone to the trouble of stealing it in the first place?

"Any reason why Yamanaka-san looks ready to gauge your eyes out, Shikamaru?" Shino asked calmly, placing his fork and knife on his empty plate.

"That might be because I went to the headmaster yesterday and told him what she'd done to Uzumaki's scarf," Shikamaru answered blandly, emptying the last bit of his coffee.

"Oh shit, you really did?" Kiba stared at him in awe. "You've got balls, dude! Do you know what kind of punishment she got?"

Shikamaru's face darkened. "Just an afternoon's detention."

"Wait, that's it?" Chouji asked shocked, having heard from Rock Lee what had happened.

"She must have fabricated her own tale about what happened," Shikamaru muttered and bitterness tainted his tone. "Her father's a member of the board too, so there's that as well."

"If she got off that lightly, why is she pissed at you?" Chouji asked perplexed, forgoing his crisps for the moment.

He released a small huff and rose up from his chair, snatching his bag from the floor. "Because I'm the one who dared to go against her and we all know she doesn't like that."

No, Ino did not like that at all, Kiba reflected and grimaced, draining his lemonade can. Unlike Uzumaki, though, he didn't think his friend had to fear retribution.

* * *

"You coming over?" Shikamaru asked when they stepped outside the gates. His mathematics club had cancelled today, leaving him with nothing to do but to go home.

Kiba shook his head and tightened his grip around the strap of his bag. "Can't, I promised nee-chan I'd help out in the kennel today," he sighed. He loved taking care of the dogs, he really did, but the problem was that his sister often left him to the filthiest chores like cleaning out the cages and that was a part he definitely didn't like to do.

"She's having you clean out the cages again?" Shikamaru chuckled, stuffing his hands into his pockets.

It had started drizzling and Kiba brushed some droplets from his nose. "How about you take up that chore and let's see if you're still laughing then," he growled.

"Dogs aren't really my thing," his friend smirked. "You fit better with them anyway."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kiba grunted before something blonde caught his attention. Turning his head slightly, he watched Ino several feet away, hiding from the rain underneath the roof of the gym, talking to Uchiha of all people.

He couldn't hear anything she was saying from this distance, but she was pouting about something, touching Uchiha's shoulder before he brushed her off and walked away, back into the school. Instead of being offended, Ino was smiling about something and she started tapping something on her phone, waving to Kiba briefly before some other girls from their class joined her and they all walked away.

Huh, weird.

"Were you even listening?" Shikamaru's dry voice cut through and he blinked, smiling sheepishly at the other boy.

"Ah sorry, what were you saying?"

"That you clearly have the attention span of a pup," Shikamaru quipped, smirk widening.

"HEY!"

* * *

"Where's Ino?" Kiba looked around confused when he couldn't spot the long, platina blonde hair in the classroom. "She sick?"

Hinata looked up from her book surprised. "Oh – er, no, she's not. She's skipping school."

"Why this time?" he asked curiously, dropping down in his seat. Ino was known to skip school every once in a while. She never did it long enough to raise suspicion, but usually there was a reason for her not coming to class for a while.

Last time she'd skipped school it had been because her boyfriend had broken up with her. For all that she could be rather flirty, she'd been serious about him and the break up had hit her hard back then apparently. She'd stayed away for four whole days before showing up the next day acting as if she'd attended class the whole week.

"My guess is because she needs some time alone," Tenten piped up, sliding into the seat next to Hinata. "I think Sakura's death is only now really hitting her. She texted us last night, saying she'd be gone for a couple of days."

"Ah, yeah, I can understand that," he muttered, greeting Shino when he passed his desk. "They were really close, so it must be rough on her."

They automatically grew silent when Uzumaki walked past their desks, but the blond boy didn't even glance at them. He just kept his head down; his grip on his backpack so tight his knuckles were white.

This was the first day he was back after his scarf had been destroyed and plainly put, he looked like utter shit. He looked like he hadn't slept well in days and his hair was messier than it had ever been. Kiba was pretty sure his shirt was inside out too.

Uchiha bent over to him as soon as Uzumaki sat down and Kiba watched the blue eyed boy nod at whatever Uchiha was telling him before Kiba turned his attention back to his own conversation with his friends.

"Yeah, she told us not to worry and asked us to collect her homework for her," Tenten continued, twisting her hair into two messy buns. "I guess she just wants us to pretend she's skipping for no other reason than to be away from school."

"I hope she'll feel better after this," Hinata said softly and they all shut up once their teacher started calling attendance.

* * *

"Kiba, if you don't get down here now, you're going to be late for school, damn it!" Mum yelled from downstairs, smacking the wall for good measure.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" he yelled back, cursing when he nearly tripped over his gym bag.

He hurried downstairs, slipping the last button through the hole when he entered the kitchen. A plate with scrambled eggs and toast was waiting for him already and the delicious scent made his mouth water.

"Is it that hard to just get up on time?" Mum complained, smacking the back of his head lightly before kissing his forehead. "Go sit down and eat your breakfast."

"Dad already left?" he asked when he didn't spot the older man and he plopped down on his chair, dragging his plate a bit closer.

"Yeah, an emergency. Someone's cat got run over and they need his help," she explained, pouring a cup of coffee for herself.

"Ah, I hope the cat makes it," he muttered and started shovelling the scrambled eggs inside his mouth, chewing noisily and nearly choking when he tried to swallow a too large bite.

Mum rolled her eyes and sighed loudly. "I know you've grown up around dogs, but that doesn't mean you have to eat like one," she reprimanded him before she was being called upstairs by his sister.

Starting on his toast, his gaze fell on the newspaper. It was still folded, meaning dad must have been called away really early if he didn't even have the time to read the paper. Having nothing better to do now that he was alone in the kitchen, he opened the newspaper in the hopes of finding something interesting to read.

The last bite of eggs turned to ashes in his mouth when his eyes fell on a title in the lower right corner: **'Girl, 17, found dead in park'**.

Next to the article, there was a picture of the victim. Her face had been blurred out, but Kiba would recognise that long, blonde hair everywhere.

_Ino was dead._

* * *

Ino had been strangled to death after having her arms and legs sliced and her stomach burnt. Some said her tongue had been cut off too, but nobody could say that with certainty. She'd been carelessly dumped near the public toilets in the park as if her killer couldn't care less whether she was found or not.

An early jogger had found her after his dog had been rather persistent in snuffling around the toilets.

Stomach rolling, Kiba curled up on his bed, still dressed in the clothes he'd worn to Ino's funeral. Ino was the third classmate to get murdered in the space of just two months. He'd heard some people of another class referring to theirs as the 'Murder Class' and it had taken everything in him not to punch those bastards.

Did they think it was funny that they'd lost three classmates in brutal murders? That they just could laugh with the fact that they had to mourn yet another friend who'd been stolen from them too soon? How did they think Ino's parents felt, her family, her friends?!

"Fuck," he whispered, swallowing back the bile that threatened to escape.

Akamaru whined softly, licking his hand before jumping on the bed and curling up behind him, radiating warmth. His fluffy tail covered one of Kiba's legs and he squeezed his eyes shut, turning around so he could cuddle with his dog.

He'd never expected to have to bury three classmates in such a short time.

How could this be possible? How could this be happening? Was it really just a coincidence or was someone killing them off one by one? Was one person behind the three murders?

Or maybe four, he amended silently when he thought about Sakon. Sure, it had been ruled a suicide, but … There was something off about it.

Why would Karin, Sakura and Ino – and maybe even Sakon – have been targeted, though? If they were killed by the same person – what about them had stood out that they had become the killer's victim?

He wasn't a genius like Shikamaru or smart like Neji, but he tried his best to think of something that was the important link between the victims. He'd ignore Sakon for now, because his death was officially a suicide and he'd only make it more complicated for him if he tried to fit Sakon in the picture.

So, what had Karin, Ino and Sakura in common? They had been in the same class. Ino and Sakura had been best friends while they had only shared a distant friendship with Karin. They were all three girls, all three had been rather popular.

… All three had been bullying Uzumaki, but like hell could Uzumaki be the one killing them off. You had to be really cold blooded to just kill someone like that and Uzumaki wasn't like that. Kiba might not know him that well, but he thought he'd know if his own classmate was offing girls one by one.

Besides, Uzumaki had an alibi – he'd been with Uchiha during the times the murders had happened. The police hadn't even been able to lift any fingerprints off the bodies and it wasn't like Uzumaki had the knowledge to be ahead of the police. No, whoever had murdered them was someone very smart, someone who knew enough about police investigation to cover his tracks completely.

Think, what else could be the link? Had they had a common enemy? Someone they had angered? He couldn't think of anyone.

Oh wait! They had had plans to meet up with some guy! Karin and Sakura had alluded to that before they had disappeared and the newspaper had mentioned that Ino had been planning to meet up with some dude according to her parents. She had left the house on her way to meet him and she'd disappeared after that.

Was that the link? Was this mysterious guy the same man who'd met up with Karin and Sakura before? It would make sense, wouldn't it? They had had plans to meet up with someone and they had vanished right after that and ended up being murdered.

Who could this guy be, though? Where had they met him? Was it someone from their school after all? But who could that possibly be?

It was no use. He let his head loll back into his pillow and stared up at the ceiling. Had he really thought he could figure out who their killer was? If the police couldn't do it, why did he expect anything different? He was just a stupid kid, what did he know about solving murders?

Maybe Akamaru could read his self-deprecating thoughts or he just sensed how upset his friend was because he whined quietly again, licking Kiba's face as if to comfort him.

Sighing, he burrowed his hand into the thick, white fur. "Yeah, I guess I shouldn't think like that. I'm just going to drive myself crazy at this point."

Akamaru yipped, thumping his large head down on the boy's stomach. As he stared at the way dark eyes slipped close slowly, enjoying the scratching he was receiving behind his ear, Kiba's mind flashed back to the days he'd taken Akamaru with him to look for Sakura. His dog had been great at finding the places Sakura had most frequented, but he hadn't been able to find her. It was quite frustrating, especially because he'd been doing so well …

His hand stilled on top of Akamaru's head and he ignored the disgruntled growl when he shoved the giant dog gently aside. Scrambling for his laptop, he booted it up quickly, waiting impatiently for the screen to load.

They had all assumed that Akamaru leading them to that street full of posh houses had been a fluke, the limit of his ability to track having been reached, but what if that wasn't the case? What if Sakura had indeed been there? What if – and the thought made him jittery with nerves – this house was the property of the mysterious guy she had met? Perhaps that would be too easy, but well, it was worth a shot, no?

Typing in the address he waited with baited breath how the site slowly loaded. Next to him Akamaru huffed annoyed, curling up next to him. His tail kept bumping into Kiba's leg when he swished it back and forth and that could either be accidental or not. Whatever, he'd cuddle the big idiot later on.

Then the page was finally loaded and he zoomed in on the name and …

"Oh my god, seriously?" he hissed underneath his breath, slapping his forehead. "You were actually stalking him, what the fuck, Sakura?"

The posh house turned out to belong to Uchiha, or well, most likely his family as a whole, but 'Uchiha' was listed as the owner of the property. Huh, Uchiha's parents must be really loaded if they could afford a house that big.

Either way this idea was a bust too apparently. He had known Sakura could get rather _obsessive_ over boys she liked, but to actually go to Uchiha's house? He shook his head, slamming the lid of his laptop close before dumping it on the ground. No wonder Uchiha had taken to ignoring her; he must have caught her near his house a couple of times.

He fell back on his bed and a second later Akamaru was back to using his stomach as a pillow.

Running his hand through the thick fur, he muttered, "This blows, Akamaru."

The dog snorted in agreement.

* * *

The atmosphere in the class the week after Ino's funeral was even more subdued than it had been after Sakura's funeral. Three murders in such a short time had cut in deeply and everyone was reeling from the losses they had suffered.

The teachers tried to distract them by letting them organise a Halloween party during class hours, but they could barely muster up any enthusiasm for the project. Still, they half-heartedly divided the chores between smaller groups and tried to make the best of it. Someone suggested they could hold the party in memory of their three classmates and that made everyone a bit more driven to organise a great party.

The party itself would be held on Saturday, the day after Halloween and while a year before people would have protested about that, because it just wouldn't be the same, now everyone just agreed with the date. While still Halloween themed, the party was more meant as a way to remember their classmates, so it didn't matter much whether they held it on Friday or on Saturday.

They were just glad to be able to do something for their classmates.

* * *

' _I'm on my way back_ ' Kiba texted his sister before she could unleash another series of texts demanding to know where the hell he was.

Classes had finished for today, but he'd gone to take a piss first before he would go home. Tomorrow was the party and his sister had promised to take him to the stores to pick up some extra snacks.

Maybe it was because it was officially Halloween, but the school looked rather creepy now that practically everybody had gone home and only some pitiful Halloween decorations were left behind in the corridors. Some fake spiderwebs swung back and forth in front of a window that stood ajar and his shoes made soft squeaky noises on the floor as he made his way downstairs.

The sky was steadily darkening, plunging the school itself in near darkness, and he grimaced, hoping he'd be home on time before the clouds would unleash the torrent of rain the weather report had promised would occur today.

"… see you tonight then? At ten?"

Kiba froze. That was Uchiha – what was he still doing here? Shouldn't he have gone home already? Cautiously he peeked around the corner and spotted Uchiha with his back to him in the corridor. He was leaning against the wall, talking to someone who Kiba couldn't immediately recognise.

Then the other one spoke and Kiba quirked an eyebrow. "Er, yeah, I said yes, didn't I?" Uzumaki asked and there was a strange infliction to his voice. Mostly he sounded nervous, though, yet a bit happy too.

It was such a strange mixture to hear in his voice and Kiba frowned, wondering why the two of them had waited to be alone – or as alone as they thought they were – to confirm they would be meeting up tonight. Uchiha had already admitted before that he and Uzumaki spent time together – what was so different about tonight that they were talking about it in a secluded corner of the school?

"Good, remember: don't tell anybody," Uchiha demanded, straightening up.

A bitter snort escaped the blond. "Who the hell would I tell, bastard?"

Uchiha muttered something in reply and then footsteps echoed through the corridor, disappearing into the distance until the creaking of the door announced they were gone.

As Kiba stood there, realisation dawned upon him, trickling into his mind like the first raindrops hitting the windows.

_Don't tell anybody, huh?_

* * *

He was being stupid, he decided mulishly when he crept through the immaculate kept garden. What was he trying to prove here even?

That Uchiha was the one who'd killed Karin, Sakura and Ino – and possibly even Sakon? The idea was so laughable that even he thought he was insane to consider it. It was why he hadn't dared to tell anyone else where he was going tonight. What was he supposed to even say?

" _Yeah, I'm going to see if I can find proof that Uchiha is a serial killer"_? They'd declare him crazy and he wouldn't blame them.

Still, the idea wouldn't let him go and it just didn't feel right not to investigate it. The girls had all met up with someone they hadn't disclosed the identity of even to their best friends – that was weird, no? Why would they keep quiet about the identity if it was just a date?

The guy asking them explicitly to keep quiet about it would be reason enough – especially if he was someone they really wanted. Someone as handsome, smart and charismatic – on his good days – as Uchiha might be convincing enough. Nearly every girl wanted to have him – it made sense for the ones going on a date with him to keep quiet about it to avoid the other girls from getting pissed off.

They had all witnessed just how vicious girls could be if they thought someone else had what they wanted to have.

It was a good theory, but the only issue was: he couldn't find one reason why Uchiha would murder those girls. What was his motive? Why would he ask them out on a date only to kill them? Was he just that psychopathic?

That was possible of course … And if that was the case, Kiba was even more idiotic for showing up here alone. He was pretty sure this was how people died in horror movies: by spying on someone they thought was a killer.

He couldn't go to the police, though. Not yet at least. He had no proof, only an inkling based on what he'd heard between Uchiha and Uzumaki. He could be totally wrong and he'd only make a fool out of himself if he were to go to the police without any proof whatsoever.

No, he needed something that would be evidence enough for the detectives to work with.

Hence why he was here now in the middle of the night creeping through the Uchiha's backyard. That it was Halloween only made it even creepier.

Eugh, he was such an idiot.

He was nearly at the window of what he assumed was the living room when light suddenly flooded through the glass, illuminating the grass, and he ducked just in time to avoid being spotted. It took him a bit of manoeuvring, but then he found a spot close to the window which allowed him to look inside, yet remain unseen.

The last thing he needed was to get caught if Uchiha indeed turned out to be a crazy serial killer.

For a moment nobody entered the room, but then one of the doors opened and Uchiha strode inside. He was dressed casually in jeans and a blue sweater and he was carrying something just out of Kiba's view. Whatever it was, he for some reason put it underneath one of the pillows on the couch before stepping away and looking around the room once.

He left again and a moment passed by in which nothing happened. Then the door leading to the garden swung open and Kiba quickly ducked behind the corner; his heart beating loudly in his ears.

Uchiha seemed to be carrying a bag outside, judging by the rustling sound of plastic. The garbage can Kiba had spotted earlier was opened and the bag dumped inside. A few seconds later the door closed again and when Kiba peeked around the corner, he noticed that the light in the living room had been turned off, blanketing the grass in darkness again.

Feeling rather ridiculous, but what if, _what if_ , he waited a bit longer to make sure Uchiha wasn't coming outside again. Once he deemed the coast clear, he hurried to the garbage can, making sure his body remained in the shadow of the large house.

"So fucking disgusting," he muttered underneath his breath, not believing he was really about to do this, but well, what if?

Quickly he opened the garbage can, held his breath and snatched out the bag which was dumped on top of the other garbage. It was a small bag, made of unassuming black plastic, and it took him a bit of fiddling and cursing between gritted teeth to remove the knot and look inside.

Bile rose up, burning his throat, when the moonlight showed him what exactly had been stuffed in the bag.

_Sakura's blood soaked clothes._

The nauseating scent of old blood and urine hit him in his face and he almost gagged, stuffing the bag inside the can again, stumbling backwards against the wall. The strength in his legs abruptly left him and he fell down on the hard ground, pressing his hands in front of his mouth.

Pushing his head between his raised legs he forced himself to breathe in and out slowly, _take deep breaths, don't pass out, not here, definitely not here, oh fuck, oh fuck, what the hell, what the fucking fuck …_

Maybe he'd fallen asleep? Maybe this was just a nightmare. Yeah, that had to be it. Because it just couldn't be really possible that Uchiha had killed those girls, right? Right?!

He pinched himself harshly, his breath leaving him in a stifled hiss when the stinging pain flaring up reminded him gleefully that this wasn't a nightmare, that he wasn't asleep, but that he really had seen Sakura's clothes in the trash.

He would recognise those green butterfly hairpins she used to pin her bangs back everywhere. Now the metal was twisted and bits of something he didn't want to know what it was clung to it. He feared he was going to vomit.

What had …

This couldn't be happening, right? Sure, he'd thought about it, but – it had just been a ridiculous idea, brought on by having watched too many horror movies in which the new person in town arrived to fuck shit up.

There was no way this could be happening in real life. There was no way Uchiha could have killed Sakura and the others.

Except that the proof was obviously in that plastic bag. Why else would Uchiha have those bloodied clothes?

Sakura had been found naked, Kiba realised dimly, staring unseeingly at the bush in front of him. Just like Karin had. The police hadn't found the clothes of either girl. Sakura's clothes were in a bag now – did that mean Uchiha had disposed of Karin's clothes earlier? If Akamaru had tried to track Karin and Ino – would the trail have led to here as well? Probably. Most likely.

He had mourned together with the rest of them – how could he have done this? How could he have done something so horrifying, yet could go to school and attend classes with them as if nothing had happened?

What kind of monster was he?

Uzumaki might be next, he acknowledged with a sickening feeling. Uzumaki hadn't been allowed to tell anyone he was meeting up with Uchiha tonight – just like Karin, Sakura and Ino hadn't wanted to say who they were meeting.

It was the perfect cover up – the police couldn't search for someone if they didn't know their victim had ever met someone on the night they disappeared. If Kiba hadn't overheard Uchiha and Uzumaki talking, hadn't made the link with the girls' mysterious behaviour about the boy they were meeting, suspicion would have never fallen on Uchiha.

Why would it have? He was already on a fast track to get the highest grades of their year – possibly even the school. Teachers praised him, sport clubs were delirious about him, girls fell to his feet wherever he went. Despite his standoffish behaviour, he was already incredibly popular – nobody would ever suspect him of being a coldblooded murderer.

Did his parents know? Did they know what kind of monster they were housing under their roof, what kind of psychopath they had given life to?

Fuck, this was just …

_God, this was so messed up._

He didn't know why Uchiha was doing it, maybe he was just that fucked up, that sick. How should he know what the hell was going through that psycho's head?

All he knew was that he couldn't let this go on. Uzumaki and he might not be friends, but he couldn't let him be killed by Uchiha either. He couldn't allow another murder to happen.

He'd warn Uzumaki first, he was on his way, wasn't he? Yeah, nearly ten o'clock, he should be here soon. So he'd warn Uzumaki first, get the hell out of here and call the police.

Sakura's clothes were enough proof for the detectives to ransack this house and then Uchiha would be arrested and nobody had to fear another murder again.

Scrambling up right, he kept as close to the wall as possible and made his way to the street quickly. His pulse was loud in his ears, his heart hammering in his chest, and cold sweat breaking out as he put distance between him and the murderer inside the innocuous looking home.

He spotted blond hair right when Uzumaki was making his way to the gates, which were still open – maybe awaiting the arrival of their classmate?

"Uzumaki!" he hissed and Uzumaki whirled around, staring at him with wide eyes.

"What the hell, what are you doing here?" the blond balked, casting a nervous look at the front door. "Sasuke didn't say you were coming over."

"That's because he doesn't know I'm here," Kiba said rushed, stepping closer to the other one. "Look, it's not safe here, okay. You need to leave with me."

"What the hell are you on about?" Uzumaki frowned, stuffing his hands into his orange jacket. He was wearing a pure white scarf with some kind of symbol stitched into it – a red and white fan of all things – and it looked rather expensive. Where had he got that?

Didn't matter. Now was not the time to wonder how Uzumaki had got his hands on something so expensive looking. "I'll tell you everything once we're out of here, I promise," Kiba muttered, throwing a wary glance at the house. "Thing is, Uchiha isn't who you think he is and we really need to get the fuck out of here, like right now, okay? Just – I'll tell you everything, but we need to go now!"

"Knock, knock, who's there? Someone who's too curious for his own good."

The last thing Kiba saw was blue eyes widening with shock before a blinding pain erupted in his head.

He was out before he hit the ground.

* * *

"But do you really have to do it? He's – this is not the same as them."

"Of course they're the same. Did he stand up for you when you were being bullied for all these years? Did he try to stop those girls from hurting you? Did he even attempt to get your scarf back before that bitch destroyed it?"

A heavy pause. "N-no," the other one softly admitted. "N-no, he – he didn't."

"Exactly. He might not have actively hurt you, but he didn't try to stop them either. That makes him as bad as them."

Footsteps making their way through the room.

"You're way too good for these people, Naruto."

He'd never heard that voice sound so velvety, so lovingly. _So tenderly_.

"That's why I'm doing this. You've been hurt for far too long; it's time someone put a stop to that. I don't care whether they're the bully or a bystander; nobody is allowed to hurt you."

The unmistaken noise of a kiss rang through the room.

"I promised I'd take care of you, didn't I?"

"Y-yeah, you did." The blond's voice was shy, but happy.

"And what else did I promise?"

"That you wouldn't let anyone hurt me."

"And?"

"That you'd do anything to make me happy."

"Exactly." Humming. "And have I broken those promises so far?"

"No, you haven't."

"And why's that?"

"Because – because you love me." His voice was so reverent, so filled with love, it made Kiba sick.

"I do. I really do. Do you love me?" He drew the other one in for another deep kiss, leaving the blond panting and flushed when he pulled back again.

"Yes, of course I love you! You know that!"

"I know. You've been so good to me. That's why …"

A hand gripped his hair tightly and raised his head roughly, forcing him to look straight into deranged, black eyes. The tip of his knife stroked almost lovingly across the tape the sicko had plastered across his mouth.

"That's why I'm going to show you just how much I love you, Naruto" Uchiha said and bent closer to the gagged and bound, terrified boy on the chair. "You chose the wrong side, Inuzuka. You had years to atone and you just wouldn't do it. Oh well, your loss."

The knife glinted silver before slashing down, spilling red and drawing out a muffled, tortured scream – the first one of many, many more to come.

* * *

How fitting would it be to have a blood red Halloween?

**The End**

**Author's Note:**

> AN2: *coughs* Yeah, er, my brain is a weird place at times, let's keep it at that. Happy Halloween, everyone! I hope it was a fitting fic for this holiday anyway.
> 
> Please leave your thoughts behind in a review; should you spot any mistakes, please point them out to me.
> 
> I hope to see you all back in my future stories!
> 
> Cuddles
> 
> Melissa


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